Feeding mechanism for wire-fence machines.



W. If. REIIL FEEDING wIECrIANlSM FOR WIRE FENCE MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED f'\UI.29.v IBIZ- Iatute Jau. III, 1919.

IMQJIIWIIMIQLI WALTER V. REID, OF RIGHMOND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR T0 PETTIS RICHMUND, INDIANA.

n. nein, or

FEJEJDING MECHANISM FOR WREeFEld'CE MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

@riginal application nled March 24, 1917, Serial No. 157,094. Divided and this application filed August 29,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, WALTER V. REID, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Wayne and State of indiana, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Feeding Mechanism for Wire-Fence Machines; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

rlhis invention relates to mechanism for feeding wire and other flexible material longitudinally, and more particularly to wire fabric weaving machines used for making v ,wire fences, wherein the stay wire is fed lon* gitudinally or endwise across a series of strand wires into position for the action of a series of loop-forming and twisting devices and associated mechanisms, whereby loops are formed in the stay wire and wrapped around the strand wires at predetermined distances apart as the strand wires are drawn intermittently through the machine.

The object of my invention is to provide a novel and efficient feed mechanism of the character referred to whereby the .wire from which the stays are to be formed, or other flexible material., may be fed tothe wire working machine automatically from the coil of wire longitudinally or endwise in desired lengths to form alternately long and short stay lengths; this application being a division of my application Serial No. 157,094, filed March 2s, 1917, and designed to cover specifically one of the forms shown in said application and comprising essentially a pair of feed rolls composed of unequal segments slightly separated to pro` vide a neutral space, and a co-acting single feed-roll rotatably mounted normally in the plane of said space, together with means for shifting said segmental rolls so as to bring them alternately into operative relation to said single roll, for feeding alternately comparatively long and short lengths.

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are to Serial No. 188,864.

Ibe taken as a part of this specification, and

then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

lin said drawings, wherein l have illustrated a feed mechanism adapted to feed one length of wire during the operation of one cycle and a different length during the nent cycle of movement,

Figure l is a front elevation of a feed mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective View of the cam used for shifting the segmental feed roll s0 as to adapt the mechanism to feed wire or other flexible material longitudinally alternately in long and short lengths; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective. view of the feed roll composed of unequal segments.

`Referring to said drawings, in which the same reference letters are used to denote corresponding parts in different views, the letter A may denote the machine frame on which the feed mechanism is mounted. The letters B, C and D denote, respectively, a power shaft, the cam shaft and a countershaft journaled in said frame. When revolved at the same speed as the time shaft of the machine to which the material is be ing fed, the power shaft may be an exten sion of said time shaft and journaled or not, as may be necessary, in the fra-me of the feed mechanism. The counter-shaft D may be journaled in suitable bearings bolted or otherwise secured to the machine frame, as shown, parallel with the power shaft. The feed roll -drive shaft E extends above the framing in which it is journaled and carries a bevel pinion or gear wheel e in mesh with a similar bevel pinion or gear wheel on the counter-shaft D, which may be driven by means of a chain F extending from a sprocket wheel on the power shaft B, to a. similar sprocket wheel on the countershaft D, as indicated in dotted lines, while the cam shaft C is driven by a drive chain G extending from a sprocket wheel on the power shaft B around a larger sprocket wheel c on the cam shaft C. Said sprocket ywheels are so proportioned and the movement so timed as to impart the desired rotary movement to the feed rolls and the desired reciprocating ratentea aan. ia, raie,

movement to the feed-roll shifting means, for feeding alternately material in different lengths, as hereinafter described. H and H1 denote a pair of feed rolls which are arranged in slightly separated relation and fixed to the shaft E so as to revolve therewith, being held lapart by means of a spacing plate or flange on one roll fitting against or upon the other roll, so as to provide what may be termed a. neutral space 71, between the two rolls for a purpose hereinafter stated. Each of the rolls H, H1 has a peripheral portion cutaway, as shown in Fig. 3, to form unequal segments, or contact .surfaces of different lengths, to adapt one segment and a single eo-aeting feed roll l to feed a greater length than the other segment; the peripheries of the vco-acting feed rolls being normally separated sufficiently for the passage therebetween of the wire or other material that is being fed longitudinally through the machine by means of said rolls. On the shaft C is fixed acam K, xvhich has arc-shaped peripheral portions or cam surfaces 7c and 701, of equal length, extending in opposite directions from the base of a peripheral projection or lobe 702, to a peripheral recess 7c3, arranged diametrically opposite said lobe, for engagement successively with an anti-friction device or roller s. carried by a rocking lever S, whereby the segmental feed rolls are shifted so as to bring them alternately into operative relation to the co-acting feed-roll I, for feeding the material intermittently alternately in long and short lengths, as hereinafter described.

The roller l, or equivalent rolling means, may be mounted on a stub shaft which has its bearings in a socket formed integrally with or secured to a lever L, which is pivotally mounted on the machine frame, conveniently by means of ears or lugs on the tubular part of the lever, apertured to receive a pivot bolt or pin engaging registering apertures in similar lugs projecting from the machine frame. The tube or socket on the lever L may be formed integrally with a depending portion or extension Z of the longer arm of the lever L, and to said longer arm is connected at its lower end one end of a coiled or other suitable spring M, the other end of which may be adjustably secured to the machine frame by means of an eye-bolt m passing through a hole in a bracket on the machine frame and having a nut screwed thereon for adjusting the tension of the spring which serves to hold the lever L in Contact with an adjusting screw n carried by a bracket N projecting from the machine frame, as shown, whereby the working faces or peripheries of the feed rolls may be set at different distances apart for feeding wire of different sizes, and are kept at the desired distance apart to permit the passage of the feed Wire between the peripheral surfaces of the adjacent feed rolls and adapt the latter to grip and hold the wire therebetween with suflicient pressure to feed the required length as the rolls revolve. A gear wheel R on the shaft E in mesh with a pinion R1 on the stub shaft which carries the feed roll I, may be used for imparting simultaneous rotary movement to the two pairs of rolls when the shaft E is revolved.

As shown, the feed-roll I is arranged normally opposite the neutral space between the adjacent feed rolls H, and H1, and the pinion R1 on the stub shaft which engages the gear R on the driving shaft E is provided with teeth of suliicient length to permit a limited vertical or forward and back movement of the gear R1 without disengaging the driving` gear and pinion, and the rolling means I adjacent the segmental feed roll is supported and spring-pressed toward the segmental feed rolls in such manner that a. reciprocatory sidewise or forward and back movement is imparted to the segmental feed rolls, by means of a pivotally mounted bell-crank lever S, the longer pendant arm of which is connected at or near its lower end with a coiled or other suitable spring T, the other end of which is preferably connected to the eye-bolt t adjustably secured to the machine frame. so that the tension of the spring may be varied. The short arm s1 of the lever S is bifurcated or forked and the forked ends thereof are provided with open-ended slots to receive studs or pintles u, projecting in opposite directions from a divided yoke U, which is fitted in a groove provided therefor by means of spaced flanges on a sleeve El which is slidably mounted upon the shaft E and caused to revolve therewith by means of a spline and groove connection, or a key on the shaft engaging a groove in the interior of the sleeve and extending longitudinally thereof, to permit the sleeve to slide on while revolving with the shaft; the feed rolls H and H1 being secured to said sleeve and movable therewith, together with the spur wheel or gear R to the hub of which the feed rolls H and H1 are rigidly secured. rlhe long` arm of the lever S carries a friction roller s1 (indicated in dotted lines) arranged to bear upon and be actuated by the cam K as the cam shaft revolves. so that by the rocking movements of the lever S the segments H and H1 will be raised and lowered so as to bring them alternately into alinement with the single roll for feedingalternately a long and a short stay length, the cam K being adapted to first bring one large roll or segment into alinement with the adjacent feed roll l, then into alinement with the neutral space centrally of the two segments, and then into alinement with the other large feed roll or segment, and

again into the-neutral space, and so on, so as to feed alternately long and short lengths of Wire or other material, the length of feed being determined by the extent of peripheral contact between the segment and the coacting feed roll.

ln the position shown in Fig. 1, the segmental feed-rolls are being held with the neutral space opposite or in the plane of the single co-acting feed-roll and interposed feed-wire, which is held in the same plane by a suitable wire guide, while the loopforming and wrapping devices are attaching a previously fed stay or stay length to the strand wires and the latter drawn through the machine the length of a stay space. When the roll on the shifting lever, which is shown riding over the cam surface 7c, reaches the recess las, the shifting lever, under the action of the spring T, will bring the uppermost segment opposite or into the plane of the single feed-roll, and the feed wire being gripped between the peripheries of the co-acting feed rolls will be advanced a stay length equal to the length of the contact surface of the segmental feed-roll, and thereupon, by engagement of the cam surface 761 with the shifting lever the segments will be again brought into neutral position and so held while the loop-forming andattaching operation and intermittent forward movement of the strand wires is repeated, whereupon the lobe k2 of the cam will engage the shifting lever and raise the segmental rolls sufficiently to bring the lowermost segment opposite or in the plane of the single feed roll and eect the feed of another stay length, and thereupon the segments will be again brought into neutral position, and so on as the rotation of the cam continues, thus intermittently feeding alternately a comparatively long and a comparatively short stay length, while permitting the intermittent action of the stay attaching devices and the intermittent feed of the strand wires. i

Suitable guiding means for the material being fed can be mounted upon a bracket or fixed part of the machine frame to guide the material to the feed rolls and guiding means to receive the material that is being fed can also be mounted upon a bracket or other fixed part of the machine frame on the opposite side of the feed rolls, if desired. When feeding a stay-feed-wire to a fencemaking machine it may be and usually is desirable to pass the wire through a wire straightener, such as shown in patent No. 1,160,089, granted Reid, Reid and Kelley, November 9, 1915, having two series of grooved rolls mounted in different planes so that the wire may be drawn between the two set of rolls and straightened; and such wire straightener may be mounted on a shelf or bracket cast integrally with or secured to the `machine frame in such manner that the straightener so mounted may serve as one guide for guiding the wire to the feed rolls. A tubular guide such as shown in said pat ent may also be mounted upon the fence ma chine and extended close up to the feed rolls to receive the wire as fed by the rolls.

lt will be understood of course that the same result might be accomplished by imparting a reciprocatory movement to the single feed roll instead of the segments, and that the required movement may be imparted to the feed roll shafts and cam shaft by other means than sprocket wheels and chains, as for instance, by bevel or spur gearing, and that if the machine with which this feeding mechanism is to be used has shafts properly timed, the frame design of the feed mechanism can be changed to suit the positions of such shafts when extended, or the feed roll drive shaft E can be directly connected to one of the machine shafts and mo-` tion imparted to the lever S by a cam mounted on a shaft within the machine frame so as to dispense with the chains and sprocket wheels and bevel gearing of the specific form shown.

While my improvedfeed mechanism is designed and adapted especially for use upon wire fence making machines, it is obviouslyadapted for use in feeding flexible material to other machines, for instance, for feeding strip material to punch presses, or other machinery, in `either unequal or equal lengths, and it will be understood that the 100 invention is not restricted in its application to wire fence making machines.

It should be borne in mind that the shifting of the feed rolls for the purpose ofl bringing the same into a neutral position or 105 into positionto effect the in-feed of the wire longitudinally, takes place while the cut away portion of the' segmental or larger roll is passing the smaller or single roll, and the feed wire may be held in the neutral po- 110 sition between the feed rolls while the latter are making one or more revolutions, the period of time it is so held depending` upon the amount of idle time wanted between successive feeds.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not desire to be limited to the specific constructions 120 illustrated and described. i

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. ln a wire fabric weaving machine, means for automatically feeding alternately a long and a short length of wire endwise across a series of strand wires into position for the action of a series of loop-forming and twisting devices and associated mechanisms; said means comprising a revoluble feed roll composed of unequal segments slightly separated to provide an intervening neutral space, a single revoluble feed roll beside said segmental rolls normally in the plane of said neutral space, and means for shifting the position of said segment-al rolls so as to throw first one segment and then the other into position for coperation with said sin- Jgle roll to feed material in different lengths.

v segments alternately into operative relation to said single roll.

3. A wire feeding device comprising a pair of feed rolls mounted on a shaft foi` imparting rotary movement thereto, each roll having a portion of its periphery cut away so as to form unequal segments, there being a neutral space separating said rolls, a single feed-roll revolubly mounted beside said segments in the plane of said neutral space, means for yieldingly pressing said single roll toward said pair of rolls, and means for shifting said segmental rolls so as to bring the larger and smaller segments alternately into operative relation to said single roll.

l. A Wire feeding device comprising a pair of slightly separated feed rolls mounted on a shaft for imparting rotary movement thereto, each roll having a portion of its periphery cut away so as to form unequal segments, a lever carrying a single feed roll normally confronting the space separating said segmental rolls, means for rotating said single roll; said lever being pivotally supported so as to permit a limited rocking movement, a spring operating on said lever to move said single roll toward said segmental rolls, means for limiting said movement, and means for shifting said segmental rolls so as to bring the larger and smaller segments alternately into operative relation r to the roll carried by said rocking lever.

5. A feeding device of the character referred to comprising a plurality of feed rolls arranged one above another so as to leave an intervening space; said rolls having unequal feeding surfaces, means for rotating said rolls in unison, a single feed roll arranged beside said segmental rolls in the plane of said intervening space, and .means for rotating said single roll, together with means for shifting said segmental rolls so as to bring the larger and smaller segments alternately into operative relation to said single roll for feeding material alternately in different lengths.

6. A feeding device of the character referred to, comprising a plurality of feed rolls consisting of unequal segments mounted one upon another and slightlyseparated by an intervening space, means for rotating said segments in unison, a co-actingfeed roll beside said segments and geared thereto; said co-acting roll being arranged in the plane of said intervening space, means l'or forcing the single roll toward the segmental rolls, a stop to limit such movement, and means for bringing said segments alternately into operative relation with said single roll for feeding material alternately in different lengths.

7. A feeding device of the character referred to, comprising a single roller element, a plurality of sidewise movable roller elements rotatably mounted beside said single element, and means for rotating` said elements; said sidewise movable roller elements being slightly separated and said single roller element arranged opposite the space separating said movable elements, and means for moving said plurality of roller elements so as to bring the peripheral surfaces thereof alternately into coperative relation to said single roller element for feeding` material in desired lengths.

8. A feeding device of the character referred to comprising a driven shaft carrying a. plurality of sidewise movable roller elements; said roller elements being slightly separated, a single roller element rotatably mounted beside said plurality of elements and intergeared therewith so as to rotate in an opposite direction thereto. and means for moving said plurality of roller elements alternately into operative relation with said single roller element for feeding material in the desired length.

9. Mechanism for feeding wire and other flexible material longitudinally alternately in comparatively long and short lengths, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a pair of feed rolls composed of unequal segments arranged in slightly separated relation so as to provide an intervening neutral space, rolling means arranged opposite said segments normally in the plane of said neutral space, and means whereby said rolling means is caused to operate alternately with said segments so as to feed material alternately in different lengths.

l0. Mechanism for feeding longitudinally wire and other flexible material alternately in different lengths, comprising a pair of revolubly mounted feed rolls composed of unequal segments arranged in slightly separated relation so as to provide an intervening neutral space co-extensive with said segments, and a feed roll revolubly mounted ln testimony whereof I aix my signature beside said segments normally in the plane in the presence of two Witnesses. of said neutral space, together with means for bringing said segments alternately into WALTER V' REID' 5 position for ooperation with said single Witnesses:

feed roll for feeding material alternately in GROVER C. Yos'r,

dierent lengths. lPnTTIs A. REID.

@epics of this patent may be obtained tor ve centr. each, by addressing the Gommissoner of Patents,

Washington, 3D. t2. 

